The book resulting from
this conference is a letter-sized edited
volume containing more than 500 pages
richly illustrated with photographs and
line drawings, handsomely
produced
by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
Press (2012). It comes with a CD-ROM with
sound and video fragments as well as the
complete bibliography (Chapter 32) in
pdf-format.

The strip of land between the Red Sea and the River Nile
in Egypt and northern Sudan is usually referred to as the
Eastern Desert after its location, east of the fertile
Nile Valley, and current arid to hyper-arid climate. The
desertification of the region started with the end of the
Holocene pluvial period (circa 12,000‑7000 years ago) and,
as is evident from the reports of 19th century travelers,
continues until today. The mineral wealth in the area has
attracted intruders from very early times onward, which in
turn have attracted most of the attention of historians
and archaeologists that study the region. The same is true
for the trade routes that connected the Nile Valley with
sub-Saharan Africa, Arabia Felix, India and the enigmatic
Land of Punt.
Despite environmental degradation and scholarly neglect,
the Eastern Desert has its native inhabitants and a
history of its own. Sometimes a hint of these can be
gleaned from the historical sources, for instance in the
case of the Medjay and the Blemmyes, or the archaeological
record, such as pan-graves and Eastern Desert Ware but
information on the indigenous history, culture and local
developments is scarce and incomplete. It is clear that
the connection between the dwellers of the desert and the
dwellers of the Nile Valley must have been more intricate
than indicated by these glimpses into the past as the
pastoral nomads in the Eastern Desert have always depended
on the farmers in the Nile Valley. The settling of
previously mobile hunter-herder-gatherers in the Nile
Valley at the end of the Holocene pluvial period, on the
other hand, may have been one of the roots of ancient
Egyptian civilization.

Research Issues

After the publication of the Netherlands-Flemish
Institute in Cairo (NVIC) volume "Life
on the Fringe" (Leiden 1998) and the
Cotsen Institute
of Archaeology at UCLA volume "The Archaeology
of Mobility" (Los Angeles 2008) there
remains a clear need for a comprehensive history of the EasternDesert. One of the anonymous reviewers
commenting on the manuscript of The Archaeology of
Mobility expanded on this need for more and more
comprehensive research of the whole of the EasternDesert during all time periods:

At some point, the Eastern Desert as a
whole should be subjected to a complete revision of
Pharaonic, Classical and Arabic sources clarifying the
whole mess. [...] We need a chart summing
up Pharaonic, Classical and Arabic sources, not only
for the Beja Cushitic region, but also the northern EasternDesert. Rock art studies
should be included as well, start with the outdated,
but still useful Winkler, etc.

Apart from logistical problems, the study of the
Eastern Desert is hampered by biases in the
textual sources, by ambiguous ethnographic parallels and
by the low archaeological visibility of the remains of the
desert dwellers. The vast majority of the historical
sources were written by outsiders who never visited the
area. They are severely prejudiced towards a settled way
of life and express negative attitudes towards mobile
groups that exist until today. Ethnographic and
ethno-archaeological information is limited and has often
been shown to provide only very incomplete parallels
between modern and ancient mobile groups in the region.
Archaeological evidence on the dwellers of the desert is
equally scarce. The emphasis of the research has been on
the better visible and easier to interpret remains of the
mines, quarries, inscriptions and trade routes of
outsiders temporarily settling in the desert. Many studies
have been biased towards Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman Egypt,
disregarding Napatan, Meroitic and Nubian sources.The ephemeral traces of the desert dwellers appear
difficult to recognize and understand. Indeed, it has only
recently been appreciated that sufficient archaeological
remains are present to allow firm conclusions on the
lifestyle and culture of the dwellers of the EasternDesert, but until now research was not focused
on their discovery. During the past decades the
anthropological theory on the relationship between the
settled majority and the mobile minority in the Near
East has developed from the permanent conflict
reflected by the historical sources to the symbiotic
relationship deduced from archaeological and
ethno-archaeological data. Our current terminology, with
fixed categories for mobile and sedentary groups, may not
be applicable to the ancient situation in which such
groups appear even more intertwined than at present.
Unfortunately, these insights come at a time that access
into the EasternDesert
(roughly the area between Aqaba, Cairo, Khartoum
and Suakin) has become increasingly difficult. A
conference organized by the Cotsen Institute and the NVIC,
to take place in Cairo (Egypt) 25–27 November 2008, aims
to use this intermission of fieldwork in the region to
address the problems and possibilities of the study of the
dwellers of the Eastern Desert, as well as to provide an
overview of the current state of our knowledge.

Meeting
Outline

During a three day meeting in Cairo
the above issues will be discussed. This meeting will
include the presentation of papers and ample time for
discussion between participants, in the presence of a
small audience. Contributions on the following main topics
are expected:

Theory and methodology in the historical,
archaeological and anthropological study of mobile
people. The focus is on the Eastern Desert, in all time
periods, but contributions need not necessarily be
limited to this region. What recent anthropological
theories apply to the relation between mobile and
sedentary groups in the area? What new techniques and
approaches (such as Google Earth, GIS, chemical
analyses, geology, climatology, statistics, etc.) should
be incorporated in our research?The history of the peoples of the Eastern Desert.
What information do we currently have from textual and
archaeological sources regarding eastern Egypt and
Sudan? Where do these different data sets agree, where
do they differ and how can this be used as a heuristic
tool? Can this data be collated into a comprehensive
history of the region?

The third and last day of the conference (Thursday 27
November 2008) will be filled with interviews and
discussions with representatives of the Ababda, a group of
pastoral nomads living in the EasternDesert,
facilitated by a questionnaire and a translator. This will
provide a unique opportunity to verify or elucidate
matters that emerged during the conference. In the
afternoon a summary of the conference will be presented in
a public lecture within the framework of the weekly
lecture series and the annual Cleveringa
Lecture at the NVIC. To enable the
discussant to do so, as well as to aid the discussion
during the conference, participants will be asked to
provide an extensive summary of their presentation well
before the start of the conference.The proceedings of the conference, together with the
contributions of invited authors, will be edited as soon
as possible after the conference and submitted for
publication, after peer-review, with the Cotsen Institute.
Publication is planned in a combined paper and on-line
format, which allows for the inclusion of large data
files, videos, animations, virtual reality
reconstructions, etc. UCLA Digital Library will be
requested to guarantee the preservation of such digital
files. Those interested to partake in this meeting are
invited to convey their intention to participate to the
organizers. Please indicate the title and the subject of
the intended contribution in a short summary (300–500
words). Presentations are in English and should not exceed
20 minutes, leaving 10 minutes for discussion. The
conference will take place 25–27 November
2008 in the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo
(Zamalek) in the presence of a small audience.